With the national trend toward the use of natural food products and the like in recent years, many people have increasingly sought alternatives to the tap water generally available. Such alternatives consist of either buying mineral, spring or distilled water or in the alternative to purify one's tap water to a more satisfactory level. Of the home purification devices presently available, most fall into one of two categories. First, many home distilling units are available, and while these are capable of a high degree of purification, they suffer from the drawback that energy is required to run them which consequently adds to the cost of the water in addition to the fairly high initial cost of such units. The second category of purifiers are generally those of the activated charcoal type which, although inexpensive and fairly efficient, do not remove enough impurities to provide truly healthful water.
Various reverse osmosis water purifiers have been proposed and built in the past, the principle being well-known. Such prior devices are typified by U.S. Pat. No. 3,695,446. Such devices tend to be fairly bulky and, in addition, have been suited mainly for commercial use in that they have not presented a construction which a consumer could easily disassemble and reassemble or which is suitably compact for home use. The prior art devices also do not provide an apparatus which is easily operated by the consumer and which may be easily cleaned or flushed in order to extend the life of the reverse osmosis membrane. Also the prior art devices have tended to be bulky and expensive and aimed mainly at the commercial market.
It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a reverse osmosis purifying device which may be manufactured inexpensively and used by the consumer in his or her home with a minimum of maintenance, expense and difficulty. It is further an object of this invention to provide a device which may be easily flushed in order to clear out residue build up from the reverse osmosis membrane and which may be easily adjusted to match the prevailing water condition in the area of where it is being used.